Jenny Dell Resurfaces as CBS NFL Sideline Reporter

Former NESN Red Sox sideline reporter Jenny Dell will be appearing on NFL sidelines this fall, as CBS announced its broadcast pairings for the 2014 season.

Part of the release noted that Tracy Wolfson would be joining the network’s top announcing team of Jim Nantz and Phil Simms as reporter. Ian Eagle and Dan Fouts have been promoted to the 2nd team, and Trent Green will join Greg Gumbel, after the retirement of Dan Dierdorf.

The release also noted that THE NFL ON CBS will utilize additional sideline reporters during the season including Jenny Dell and Evan Washburn.

It’s a nice way for Dell to land on her feet following her departure from NESN which was made complicated and messy after she and Red Sox player Will Middlebrooks announced that they were dating.

Excited to announce that I will be joining the @NFLonCBS family this year! Dream come true! #NFL#CBS

Hard to believe, she wasn’t very good on the Sox sideline and seemed like a deer in the headlights. I always thought Heidi Watney was much more talented and smarter to say nothing on the visual appeal.

Wow – there had to be dozens of people more qualified for this gig than Jenny Dell. Easily the worst local sideline reporter in recent memory IMO, and it’s not even close. She wasn’t even capable of doing live segments during plodding Sox games, and the topics she did “report” on rarely strayed from hot dog reviews and interviews with pizza throwing fans. Curious as to what CBS execs saw in her–besides the obvious–that they felt made her qualified to step into such a prominent role. NFL sideline reporting is a whole different ball game than doing hackneyed human interest stories from the stands or shilling Fenway bricks between innings.

Being a good NFL sideline reported actually takes skill to quickly analyze situations, ask the right questions, then succinctly articulate relevant info up to the broadcast booth. Now I’m not a fan of the overwhelming majority of sideline reporters, but those worth their salt—such as Michele Tafoya, Suzy Kolber, et al.–actually know their stuff and are capable of bringing added insight and value to the broadcast when called upon. I don’t remember Jenny Dell bringing anything of note to the table as a NESN sideline reporter, other than some T&A.

Yeah, the quotes, of people who went on the record, are scathing. I can’t even imagine the ones who didn’t want to get quoted or weren’t asked that are legitimately trying to do a good job.

I was surprised someone like CBS made the hire. Maybe FOX gave up interest after the initial run. They’re usually not known to do the “hot hire” as much as FOX is. Just different styles for different networks.

As I go through life (over 60 years now) there are two words I make an effort to avoid. The first is always, the second is never. It’s easy to say you will never do something. As such, I will take those quotes with the skepticism they deserve.

Oh god no. Not even close to the worst ever. Have you forgotten Whatshername, the former Miss Rhode Island? Michelle something? She was TERRIBLE. Lacked even basic on-air skills. Jenny Dell looks like Edward R. Murrow next to her.

It’s been continually reported that NESN heavily underpays talent, which seems to be 0 problem for a RSN, and it’s their right to do so.

If that’s the case, she would have been gone regardless. By the time she left, she was all over the national radar, given what happened in 2011 and before. Once the “pretty face” gets a big enough name, and winds up on “national radar”, it’s only a matter of time before one of the big national networks hires them away.

Nothing new here for NESN, though. You can literally set O/U for “time before national network calls” with females there, but the same can be said about other RSNs.

You guys certainly seem to put a lot of stock in sideline reporters.
Not once has one made me change the channel, who cares? You can get any information he/she/they might provide on the internet and if you’re watching from home I assume that’s pretty easily accessible.

I am liking the Dale and Holley show. Dale has a confidence to him that I don’t recall from the past. They’re comfortable with and work well together. I especially thought the addition of Steve Buckley made for a good trio this week. I enjoy the “troll voice” that Dale does when he’s making fun of the texters that make fun of him.

I’m am not enjoying the Mikey – Villani dynamic. Villani is not smooth or competent enough to competently argue the sabermetrics angle. They just end up bickering for minutes on end. Jon Ryder was a big part of that show. When he and Mikey argued, it was funny. Mutt is doing a good job with the pre and post game shows, but once in a while, during the Red Sox Review part of the night, he’ll slip into HotSportsTakezMutt mode.

MFT or whatever the hell it’s called, it’s not bad. Lou has stopped screaming – maybe he really disliked Mutt? Benz carries the show along and is not grating or annoying. Fauria is fine.

I’d still like to hear more from the Tom E. Currans, Alex Speiers and Matt Chathams of the world.

Over on CBS – The Sky Is Falling – Sports Radio, the only show that I can tolerate in small amounts is Toucher and Rich. Pretty much everyone else has embraced the mode of “everything sucks and must be destroyed”.